I quit artificial Sweetener!!!

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  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Actually artificial sweetener is the reason why I have not been able to lose weight even when I eat right. Then I seen this article on how it actually causes people to gain weight. Also since I stopped using it I feel more energized and better overall. It has only been a week and since I only weigh myself every two weeks I don't know how it is affecting me on the scale.

    I do add the sugar to my daily count though

    Artificial sweeteners do not cause weight gain, nor are they the cause of not losing weight.

    Calorie surplus=weight gain
    Calorie deficit=weight loss


    well there are many studies out there that say that it does cause weight gain. I am not saying I believe everything but what do I have to lose.


    http://www.newswire.net/newsroom/pr/00079190-obesity-weight-gain-common-factors.html

    http://www.dubaichronicle.com/2014/01/11/new-weight-loss-strategies/


    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/04/saccharin-aspartame-dangers.aspx


    These are just a few of the hundreds of articles out there

    Those are not studies, those are people's opinions. There are no studies that link artificial sweeteners to weight gain.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    I should have also mentioned that I changed nothing else in my diet other then take the sweetener out and using sugar for my coffee and cereal instead. I eat a 1200 cal non processed food diet a day and have not been able to lose infact I have gained weight

    Do you weigh your food? If you are gaining on 1200 a day, you are eating more than you think. If you would like to open your diary maybe we can help.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    The thing about artificial sweeteners is that they don't make a person gain weight by itself, but it contributes to cravings rather then helping them. It does something along the lines of tricking the body into feeling like it's getting sugar but then it realized it's not so it's like WTF I want sugar now!....and no this isn't a quote from a study but what I've heard it a few times from random doctors and such, so don't ask for facts, just going by what I've heard.

    But they have no affect on making a person gain or lose weight. how they make you feel is different. Some people handle foods better and some don't. If it makes you feel yucky then don't use it.

    As for what to put in coffee and oatmeal, try honey or agave syrup (doesn't spike insulin levels like sugar does). Or Just use sugar. Honestly, a few teaspoons a day isn't going to kill your diet. And at least you'll be getting what you want and not the fake stuff.

    I don't use them because I can't stand the after taste of artificial sweeteners. I'd rather use real sugar but less of it.
    This is false. For one thing, aspartame is protein, and the body immediately recognizes it as protein and digests it as protein. It's not fooled into thinking it's sugar instead of protein.

    Also, honey and agave are pretty much pure glucose, they will spike insulin way faster than table sugar.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Good on you aspartame has terrible side effects. Decreased vision, headaches, migraine, Epileptic seizures, severe depression, irritability, phobias, severe PMS, hyperactivity in children. multiple sclerosis (MS) chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and birth defects, including mental retardation. In my opinion it is just not worth it. Good old fashion sugar and honey in moderation is better and the body knows how to processes it. Good luck :smile:
    Completely false, none of those side effects are real. Also, the body knows how to process aspartame just fine, it's a simple protein chain that the body digests all the time, any time you eat meat, or beans, or bread, or milk, or anything else that contains protein.
  • meritage4
    meritage4 Posts: 1,441 Member
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    Back to the original question-I like some raisins in my oatmeal. They add some sweetness and some iron. My mom always made it this way. Of course you track the raisins.
  • Tffanie4712
    Tffanie4712 Posts: 115
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    I use to use splenda a whole lot. Im talking about everything I ate including fruit.I guess people don't realize when they are drinking diet pops and eating sugar free stuff they are still using artificials sweetners including sugar free gum.I learn to eat the foods the way it comes no ADDED sugar and no ADDED salt. Once you get adjusted to eating that way then you won't have to worry about sweetners. My opinion I really don't think it's bad for you, but that's my opinion.
  • Nachise
    Nachise Posts: 395 Member
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    Congratulations! The only time I ever used artificial sweeteners was when I drank a diet soda. I quit those over a decade ago. Once I quit, I realized that I am a "taster". Artificial sweeteners really bother me, and I can't tolerate them in any food or drink product. The taste nearly gags me, and leaves a bitter aftertaste in the back of my mouth. I use sugar or honey for sweetener.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Good on you aspartame has terrible side effects. Decreased vision, headaches, migraine, Epileptic seizures, severe depression, irritability, phobias, severe PMS, hyperactivity in children. multiple sclerosis (MS) chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and birth defects, including mental retardation. In my opinion it is just not worth it. Good old fashion sugar and honey in moderation is better and the body knows how to processes it. Good luck :smile:
    Completely false, none of those side effects are real. Also, the body knows how to process aspartame just fine, it's a simple protein chain that the body digests all the time, any time you eat meat, or beans, or bread, or milk, or anything else that contains protein.

    Well no. Aspartame is not a protein. It's a pair of amino acids, but they're joined by an ester bond. Proteins are amino acids joined by peptide bonds. So it's a methyl ester. Not the same thing. It's is digested through a completely different process.
  • mlima14
    mlima14 Posts: 112 Member
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    I'm unfortunately one of those people who actually have an allergic reaction to artificial sweeteners, I discovered this when a Nutritionist gave a diet plan to use foods with them to lower my calorie intake, I started to feel like I had sand in my throat and it progressed to a swollen tongue and difficulty in swallowing (now that was kind of scary!). It wasn't a food allergy like some people tried to make me believe, as the thing that I actually ate different in my diet was the sugar replacement. What I've done is tried to substitute sugar with honey and if I must use sugar I use dark brown sugar as it has the same amount of calories as white sugar but I find that with less it sweetens more. There also my coffee which I've been sloooowly weening myself of on the sugar by adding a little bit less each time. I also make an oatmeal without sugar, that I found in a magazine, which I enjoy, the recipe is:

    This serves 2

    1 medium banana, mashed
    1/2 cup rolled oats
    1 cup skim milk
    1 tbsp wheat germ
    1 tbsp ground flax seed
    1 tbsp walnuts, crushed

    1) Combine the banana, oats and milk.
    Microwave on high for 3 min, stirring each minute.
    2) After cooking, stir in remaining ingredients and stir

    Calories 230, Total fat 6g, Sodium 65 mg, Total Carbs 36 g, Fiber 5 g, Sugar 14 g, Protein 10 g, Iron 1 mg
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    I'm unfortunately one of those people who actually have an allergic reaction to artificial sweeteners, I discovered this when a Nutritionist gave a diet plan to use foods with them to lower my calorie intake, I started to feel like I had sand in my throat and it progressed to a swollen tongue and difficulty in swallowing (now that was kind of scary!). It wasn't a food allergy like some people tried to make me believe, as the thing that I actually ate different in my diet was the sugar replacement. What I've done is tried to substitute sugar with honey and if I must use sugar I use dark brown sugar as it has the same amount of calories as white sugar but I find that with less it sweetens more. There also my coffee which I've been sloooowly weening myself of on the sugar by adding a little bit less each time. I also make an oatmeal without sugar, that I found in a magazine, which I enjoy, the recipe is:

    This serves 2

    1 medium banana, mashed
    1/2 cup rolled oats
    1 cup skim milk
    1 tbsp wheat germ
    1 tbsp ground flax seed
    1 tbsp walnuts, crushed

    1) Combine the banana, oats and milk.
    Microwave on high for 3 min, stirring each minute.
    2) After cooking, stir in remaining ingredients and stir

    Calories 230, Total fat 6g, Sodium 65 mg, Total Carbs 36 g, Fiber 5 g, Sugar 14 g, Protein 10 g, Iron 1 mg

    Allergic to which of them?
  • healthnewlife
    healthnewlife Posts: 30
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    stevia
  • Brige2269
    Brige2269 Posts: 354 Member
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    I stopped using all artificial sweeteners about 5 years ago. I feel they are not good for me. I looked into many different things and read many labels. I just decided to go with the least refined natural sugar. I use raw sugar. It took a bit to get use to, maybe about 2 weeks, but now I don't notice a difference anymore. I use it in my coffee and oatmeal. Good luck and give it some time.
  • mlima14
    mlima14 Posts: 112 Member
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    I'v actually tried Splenda, Same, Equal and I get the same reaction so I think there might be something in common between them not sure of the chemical make up, but I tried Stevia and just felt nauseas afterwards. So for me only the real stuff.

    Oh by the way also Truvia which is in the Bryer's yogurt found it was used in it by accident as my tongue got swollen after I ate it, now I check EVERY ingredient on the labels just to make sure.
  • Ries2013
    Ries2013 Posts: 14
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    The thing about artificial sweeteners is that they don't make a person gain weight by itself, but it contributes to cravings rather then helping them. It does something along the lines of tricking the body into feeling like it's getting sugar but then it realized it's not so it's like WTF I want sugar now!....and no this isn't a quote from a study but what I've heard it a few times from random doctors and such, so don't ask for facts, just going by what I've heard.

    But they have no affect on making a person gain or lose weight. how they make you feel is different. Some people handle foods better and some don't. If it makes you feel yucky then don't use it.

    As for what to put in coffee and oatmeal, try honey or agave syrup (doesn't spike insulin levels like sugar does). Or Just use sugar. Honestly, a few teaspoons a day isn't going to kill your diet. And at least you'll be getting what you want and not the fake stuff.

    I don't use them because I can't stand the after taste of artificial sweeteners. I'd rather use real sugar but less of it.

    Not true. Through you'll read this "theory" on a lot of quack health and nutrition websites.

    Here you go:
    Sucralose affects glycemic and hormonal responses to an oral glucose load.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23633524

    and a whole list of them:
    http://www.mpwhi.com/peer_reviewed_research.htm
  • Loves418
    Loves418 Posts: 330 Member
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    I use truvia: I don't crave more sweets: I drink maybe 2-3 cans of coke zero/ or diet coke a week. I am aiming to drink none this week/month but not because of the sweetners but because my reflux is acting up :grumble:
    I lost 45 pounds so far. Why have I not been losing lately..nothing to do with the truvia or the soda..the cold hard truth is not pushing hard enough to get my workouts in and poor food choice..last but never least..well yes maybe least..I ALWAYS put my needs last in this family..
    .I don't believe a word Dr.Oz says anymore if you watch him daily and took his advice you would be taking over 100 supplements and heaven knows what else. Diet soda does not stop you from losing weight! Lack of exercise and bad food choices do.
    Now someone have a coke zero for me :drinker:
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,676 Member
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    I quit using artificial sweetener which I used for everything! I mean everything....coffee, cereal, baking etc... I quit drinking diet Pop but I can't and don't want to give up my coffee. I cannot drink it without sugar. I also sweeten my oatmeal to make it taste better. Has anyone gone through a similar change and how did they replace the sweetener? I looked at Stevia but I find that I am just replacing one chemical with another...

    Any ideas?
    Stevia! Not the Reb-A garbage in the grocery aisle.
    Get the real extract. Currently I buy it at Trader Joe's.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    The thing about artificial sweeteners is that they don't make a person gain weight by itself, but it contributes to cravings rather then helping them. It does something along the lines of tricking the body into feeling like it's getting sugar but then it realized it's not so it's like WTF I want sugar now!....and no this isn't a quote from a study but what I've heard it a few times from random doctors and such, so don't ask for facts, just going by what I've heard.

    But they have no affect on making a person gain or lose weight. how they make you feel is different. Some people handle foods better and some don't. If it makes you feel yucky then don't use it.

    As for what to put in coffee and oatmeal, try honey or agave syrup (doesn't spike insulin levels like sugar does). Or Just use sugar. Honestly, a few teaspoons a day isn't going to kill your diet. And at least you'll be getting what you want and not the fake stuff.

    I don't use them because I can't stand the after taste of artificial sweeteners. I'd rather use real sugar but less of it.

    Not true. Through you'll read this "theory" on a lot of quack health and nutrition websites.

    Here you go:
    Sucralose affects glycemic and hormonal responses to an oral glucose load.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23633524

    and a whole list of them:
    http://www.mpwhi.com/peer_reviewed_research.htm
    Sucralose IS sugar. Of course it will have a glycemic effect.

    As for the second link, the fact that they posted a bunch of abstracts, and not the actual studies, is very telling.
  • suchastruggle
    suchastruggle Posts: 55 Member
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    Good for you for eliminating unneeded chemicals from your diet! I have personally learned to drink my coffee black, but if you can't take it that way, just add a teaspoon of sugar and log it in. Stevia comes from a plant so it's not a chemical; now depending on the brand, I suppose they can add whatever they want to it which might make it not so. . . Also, all brands of coffee are not created equal. If I have a good flavored coffee, I don't need to add anything to it.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    I stopped having sweetener/sugar in coffee years ago, and now I can't stand coffee with anything sweet in it (although I do like a vanilla cappuccino sometimes!).

    I put a bit of golden syrup in porridge (oatmeal). It doesn't have that many calories in it, and I'd rather have that than artificial sweeteners.

    I rarely drink fizzy drinks, maybe once every 3 months, so if I do I'll just have the full fat version.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    I'v actually tried Splenda, Same, Equal and I get the same reaction so I think there might be something in common between them not sure of the chemical make up, but I tried Stevia and just felt nauseas afterwards. So for me only the real stuff.

    Oh by the way also Truvia which is in the Bryer's yogurt found it was used in it by accident as my tongue got swollen after I ate it, now I check EVERY ingredient on the labels just to make sure.

    If you get the same reaction from all those, it's 100% in your head. The chemicals are wildly different.

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